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The past year has been tough for businesses all over the world. Many businesses rely on having people walk through their doors, including those in the food, fashion and beauty industries. While some businesses have been able to adapt by letting employees work from home, it simply hasn’t been an option for others.
While things are beginning to look more promising, there are certainly lessons to be learned from the last year that could help future-proof your business should something like this happen again.
Want to make your business pandemic-proof? Take a look at the following tips.
Adapt your business premises
Many businesses have had to make changes to be able to cope during the pandemic. From the amount of people allowed in at one time, to needing to implement one-way systems, there have been different ways of adapting shop floors, restaurants, etc. to fit with social distancing guidelines.
Giving some thought to the layout of your business can help you make some changes going forward that can help you adapt your business if needed. You should think of all eventualities including different payment processing options for retail stores, having protective screens at the counter and one-way systems if needed. It’s also handy to have some temporary signage you can use if needed to alert customers to any changes they need to know about.
Have a backup that you can run online
One way that businesses were able to keep running during the pandemic was to take some of their business online. From providing home meal kits and delivery options to selling stock and gift cards online, there are different ways you can adapt your business to suit a customer-base that’s at home. There are different things to consider when adapting your business to the online world, and while it’s not going to be possible for all businesses, it’s always worth having a backup plan in case your business needs to close again in the future.
Make health and safety a priority
The health and safety of your employees is one of the most important priorities for your business. You should ensure that they have access to health and safety equipment, and be fully trained in different practices. You might also need to review your policies around sickness absence, especially in instances where employees might need to quarantine through no fault of their own. Always follow official guidance to make sure your employees are put first.
Reduce your running costs
By reducing your business’ running costs, you can make sure your basic costs are kept low so that if you need to close for whatever reason, you won’t be left with unmanageable costs. Some of the things you can do include running your business from home and encouraging home working amongst your employees. Analyze your spending and identify areas for savings to help you keep your running costs low.
Situations like the pandemic can be unexpected, and devastating for businesses. While it’s not easy to predict what’s going to happen, you can put some plans in place to protect your business if needed. Take steps to future-proof your business ready for anything that might come your way.
